Actress Cha Cheong-hwa shared her past story of dropping out of three projects due to her pregnancy.
On the 16th, a video titled ‘Welcome, Emina! A Gathering of Luxury Actresses with Kim Jeong-nan’ was posted on Kim Jeong-nan's YouTube channel, featuring actors Kim Seon-young, Cha Cheong-hwa, and Jang So-yeon, who worked together on the tvN drama ‘Crash Landing on You’.
In the video, Kim Jeong-nan expressed, “When I entered ‘Queen of Tears’, I had nightmares every day for 20 days,” and shared her struggles, saying, “The role was so good, but it was very difficult.”
Kim Seon-young empathized with her, stating, “I searched for ‘acting training’ on YouTube,” to which Cha Cheong-hwa replied that she also bought an acting training book.
Cha Cheong-hwa mentioned that after getting married and having a child, her environment changed, saying, “While making baby food, my manager would say, ‘I’ve arrived,’ and I would have to finish making the baby food and leave, going through that process,” which resonated with working mom Kim Seon-young.
Additionally, Cha Cheong-hwa shared her story of having to drop out of projects due to her pregnancy, saying, “There were big roles I was supposed to take on, but after getting pregnant, I had to drop out of three,” and added, “I was excited to play a villain, but it was an action piece, so I couldn’t do it.”
Cha Cheong-hwa, who had never been pregnant before, thought she could still act while pregnant, stating, “The set was in chaos. Starting from how to change the underwater scene. I didn’t want my blessing to be a burden to everyone, so I thought it was right for me to drop out.”
Cha Cheong-hwa, who had even done costume fittings for the projects, said she cried out of regret, sharing, “When I was upset, my mom said, ‘Cheong-hwa, you are carrying the most precious project of your life, why are you upset about that?’ From that moment, I started to focus on prenatal education for the baby.”
Cha Cheong-hwa began her acting career in 2005 with the play ‘Back Alley Story’ and gained recognition as a scene-stealer by playing the role of Yang Ok-geum in ‘Crash Landing on You’. She has since appeared in various works such as ‘Mr. Queen’, ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’, ‘Please Take Care of My Family’, ‘My Demon’, and ‘The Season of the Witch’, and recently left a strong impression as Yeong-geum in the SBS drama ‘Gyeonggung’.
Cha Cheong-hwa married a younger businessman in 2023 and welcomed her first daughter last year.
